Furniture slip cover



May 16,1944. s. PASS 2,349,193

' FURNITURE SLIPCOVER Filed'se pt. 1;, 1941 Patented May 16, 19 34- UNITED STATES OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in furniture Slipcovers.

One object of the invention is to provide a slipcover construction for use on articles of stuffed furniture whereby the back rest enclosing portion of the cover can be adjusted smoothly and snugly over the back rests or the shoulders and lateral walls thereof in instances where such back rests vary in dimensions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Slipcover which not only can be fitted neatly over the shoulders and lateral walls of back rests of articles of furniture, but which presents an uninterrupted covering for the forward surface of the back rest and accommodates such adjustments as to size and contour at the rear of the back rest where such adjustable portions are less likely to become dislodged from proper position than where they are located on the forward surface or at the side edges of the back rest.

Other objects and advantages of the present improvements will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification and accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a front elevation of an article of furniture showing a slip cover in position thereon which embodies the present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a rear view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a broken perspective view looking to the rear of a chair having an improved Slipcover in position thereon;

Fig. 4 is a detached perspective view of the back rest and shoulder cover portions embody ing the present improvements, as well as the associated seat and front drop portions of a slip cover;

Figs. 5 and 6 are developments of two portions which constitute a shoulder and side wall covering section of the slip cover; and

Fig. 7 is a broken perspective View of a modified cover embodying the invention.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, a conventional club chair is shown for the purpose of illustrating the adaptability of the invention thereto, but it will be apparent that the invention may be embodied in slipcovers for articles of furniture of different shape and style. In the drawing, the chair is indicated generally by the numeral ii] and may be of conventional construction The cover illustrated is of the general type shown in the Levi Patent No. 1,825,909, granted October 6, 1931, in that it has separable arm cover sections it and sections adapted to cover the front and rear surfaces of the back rest, the-seat, and a front portion or drop which covers the front portion of the chair between the arms thereof.

Fig. 4 of the drawing illustrates the back rest cover section having the present improvements embodied therein. In said figure it will be seen that the section referred to comprises a rear panel 12 of suitable fabric which covers the rear of the chair including the back rest and is attached preferably by an upper seam E3 to a front panel M which covers the front surface of the back rest. The lower edge of the panel It may be attached to or formed integrally with a seat cover panel 15 which generally is disposed beneath the cushion of the chair, such cushion not being shown in the drawing. Attached to the forward edge of the panel I5 or formed integrally therewith is a front panel or drop [6 which covers the forward portion of the chair between the arms and, as is shown in Fig. 4, may have a strip of pleats ll secured thereto which cooperate with the pleats it carried by the lower portions of the arm cover sections H. The pleat are for ornamental purposes and form no part of the present improvements.

The panels l2 and I4 are of a width less than the width of the smallest chair on which the seat cover is adapted to be used, and hence, when the section of the cover shown in Fig. 4 is placed on the chair, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the panels l2 and It do not fully enclose the shoulders and lateral side walls of the back rest. The shoulders and side walls of the back rests of chairs of different makes vary generally in width, contour and in thickness, and a cover constructed with shoulder cover sections of fixed shape and size generally fits improperly when placed on a chair of a size different from that for which the cover was specially made.

In accordance with the present improvements, the shoulder cover sections preferably are formed of two portions Hi and 20 shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The portion i9 is generally of triangular shape but has convex vertical edges IBawhich converge at an apex I917. One of the edges I90. of each shoulder cover section is stitched to the adjacent vertical edge Ma of the front panel M, the apex 19b of each portion It being located at the seam l3. Secured to each portion i9 is a portion 2%], the latter being secured along its edge 29a to the opposite edge lfia of respective panel 19, the upper portion of the attached edge 20a of panel 2% being curved substantially as shown in Fig. 6. As shown in Fig. 3, the upper curved portion of the edge Zita extends beyond the apex ha of the portion l9 and is secured along the seam l3 and preferably extends into underlapping relation with respect to the adjacent vertical marginal portion of the rear panel I2, which in Fig. 3 is shown pulled to one side for the purpose of clarity. The upper curved edges of the cooperating portions 19 and 261 shape the shoulder covering sections generally to the contour of the shoulder of the chair, but the shape is not fixed inasmuch as the edges 2% and the lower edges of the panels l9 and 20 are free. By reason of this free edge construction the shoulder covering sections can be drawn inwardly of the back of the chair into greater or less underlapp-ing relation with respect to the adjacent marginal portions of the panel [2. Hence, where a chair is of smaller dimensions than that shown in Fig. 3, the shoulder cover sections can be drawn inwardly or toward the vertical center line of the back of the chair an extent greater than that shown to provide a snug fit around the curved shoulders and side walls of the back rest and can be secured in such position by any suitable fastening means such as tie strings 2!.

In drawing the panels 20 inwardly, as stated, an extent greater than that shown, as may be necessary due to the dimensions of the back rest, lateral portions of the members l9 may be drawn to the back of the chair, but such is not objectionable since the portions l9 and 20 preferably are made of the same material and the seams 22 between said portions will, b

in that event, be drawn to the rear of the back rest.

The members l9 and 20 are of such length as to extend downwardly to a level beneath the level of the arms of the chair. In placing a cover on a chair, for example, the back rest panels [2 and I4 and the shoulder sections l9 and 20 may be adjusted in position, and the arm cover sections H may then be placed in position. These arm cover sections overlap the lower edges of the portions 19 and 20, and thus confine the free lower edges thereof. I'he arm cover sections may be provided with tie strings 23 at the rear edges, and they may be secured by suitable fasteners or like devices to the panel The present invention is an improvement over the structure shown in the Trubitz Patents No. 2,123,667, granted July 12, 1938, and No. 2,179,805, granted November 14, 1939, both assigned to me, in that the portions I9 of the shoulder cover sections are stitched to the adjacent edges of the front panel l4, and hence, provide no exposed unattached edges on the front surface of the back rest or at the shoulders that can, during use of the cover, be inadvertently engaged and the cover displaced or brought into disarray. The invention contemplates the tucking in of surplus material of the cover at the rear of the seat of the chair and into the crevices at the rear of the arms and at the inner walls of the arms as in the above mentioned patents. Where the improved slipcover, however, is used on a chair of smaller than average width across the back rest, a neat fitting adjustment is made by drawing the panels 20 inwardly toward the center line of the back rest at the rear thereof which can be accomplished by reason of the fact that the lower edges of the panels 19 and 20, as well as the vertical edge 20b of each of the latter panels are free. Thus, for example, the left-hand edge of the panel 20, a viewed in Fig. 3, may be drawn inwardly to various positions, one of which is indicated by a dotted line 24, and secured in such position to retain the panel l4 and the shoulder and side wall cover sections l9 and 20 in taut relation.

In the slip cover shown in Fig. 7 the members l9 and 20 of the above described modification have been eliminated and in lieu of each pair thereof a single member 25 has been substituted to provide a construction for use on chairs of the shape of button-back chairs, for example. Member 25 is of a shape generally similar to member 20 and has the curved edge thereof stitched to the adjacent vertical edge of the front panel I4 and to the seam l3 at the top of the back rest. Each section 25 (one only being shown in the drawing) has a free inner edge normally extending under the rear panel I2 and a free lower edge which cooperate with adjacent portions of the cover in adjusting the same to articles of furniture as described above.

The improvements not only facilitate the adjustment of a slipcover to chairs of different sizes, but the adjustment is made at the rear of a chair, can be made readily, and no exposed free edges are provided at the front of the back rest or at the shoulders or side walls by means of which the adjusted cover can inadvertently be engaged and the cover thereby disarranged.

While I have shown and described an embodiment of my improvements for the purposes of illustration, it will be seen that changes in detail therein may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A furniture slipcover for an article having arms, a seat and a back rest, comprising cooperating cover portions for the arms and seat and a section for the back rest comprising front and rear panels for the front and rear surfaces respectively of the back rest, and a pair of shoulder cover sections for the shoulders of the back rest, said shoulder cover sections each comprising a generally triangular portion having convex vertical edges converging at the apex of the triangle and secured at one vertical edge thereof to the upper portion of the adjacent vertical edge of said front panel, and a portion having one vertical edge secured to said triangular portion along the opposite vertical edge of the latter and having a free vertical opposite edge extending inwardly of the back of the article into underlapping relation with respect to the rear panel and being secured at the upper edge thereof to the upper portion of the back rest cover section, said shoulder cover sections having free lower edges whereby the second mentioned portions of said shoulder cover sections can be drawn inwardly of the rear of a back rest into said underlapping relation with respect to the rear panel an extent required in adjusting the shoulder sections transversely of the shoulders and the lateral walls of a back rest into snug fitting relation therewith, the extent of the underlapping of said shoulder sections with respect to said rear panel being dependent on the dimensions of the back rest of the article, said shoulder sections being sufficiently long as to provide surplus material adapted to be overlapped at the lower portions thereof by said arm cover sections.

2. A cover for a stuffed article of furniture comprising cover sections for the arms, seat, and front of the article, a cover section comprising front and rear panels for the front and rear surfaces respectively for the back rest of the article, said panels being connected together along the upper edge of the back rest and of such width as to be incapable of covering the side walls of the back rest, and cover sections for the shoulders of the back rest comprising a pair of cooperating portions, one of said portions of each shoulder cover section being triangular in shape with an apex located at the junction line of said back rest cover panels and being connected along the forward vertical edge thereof to the adjacent edge of said front panel and covering the corresponding shoulder of the article, the other portion of each shoulder cover section being generally rectangular in shap and secured at the upper edge thereof along the junction line of said panels and secured also at the forward edge to the other vertical edge of the cooperating triangular portion and adapted to be drawn inwardly at the rear of the back rest into lapping relation with said rear panel and provided with means for securing the same in SAM PASS.

)0 such relation. 

